The Thigh Gap Lie

by Mermaid Nixie June 18, 2017 350 Comments

"All I want for Christmas is a thigh gap."

"If I had one wish, it would be for a thigh gap."

These are sentiments I see on the internet every day. The thigh gap has become the Holy Grail of physical fitness with women posting about how they wish they had one.

And it's BULLSHIT.

I mean, if you want a thigh gap, have you ever stopped to think about the fact that, a couple of years ago, you didn't even know what that was? I remember when I was in high school, there was a rumour that girls whose thighs didn't touch were sluts because they had so much sex it kept their legs apart.

That was also slut-shaming bullshit. Which is worse.

My point is that no one knew that they should have a thigh gap 5 years ago. And I dare you to tell me why you want one now. Yeah, we all have moments where we wish we didn't chafe, and of course, we wish our jeans weren't wearing out (see also the purpose of this brand), but haven't you met a skinny girl that didn't have a thigh gap?

That's a picture of my 14-year-old daughter's legs (taken and posted here with her permission). She wears a size 0-2. Her thighs touch. I've also met a few "curvy" girls who have a thigh gap. I don't have any pictures of them lying around though.

Here's the thing: there are a thousand different reasons why you might not have a thigh gap and only 2 for why you don't: bone structure, and malnutrition.

You see, as a woman, your body is built to grow and give birth to a baby, even if that's not something you're planning to do. Women have 4 types of pelvises:

Each of those represents a different pelvic configuration that a typical woman can have. And the thing is, unless you've had a complete pelvic scan, you don't know which one you have. And some (like the gynecoid and platypelloid) are more likely to have a thigh gap than others. 

I took those names and went to find what these look like from the front. It...was not easy. I can find a gynecoid pelvis no problem, but finding scans of all 4 is a different thing.

The thing is, that women are starving themselves to get a thigh gap their bodies aren't made for. Eating disorder clinics have posts telling women to stop. 

Because, if you're body's not built for it, the only way to get a thigh gap is to starve yourself to muscle atrophy. And we have a name for that. It's anorexia.

So, stop stressing over whether you've got a thigh gap and start loving the body you've got.

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